'Cats Down Louisville, One Win from Super Regional

Sunday, May 19

1 pm CT

Northwestern

46-11

Louisville

35-22

Northwestern

Louisville

Photo by: S. J. Carrera, Inc.

'Cats Down Louisville, One Win from Super Regional

5/19/2019 5:41:00 PM | Softball

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Danielle Williams scintillates through six as NU forces winner-take-all matchup

By: David Herder

Northwestern flew past the Louisville Cardinals 5-0 to force a winner take all match up in the Evanston Regional.

The Wildcats return to the diamond at approximately 6:15 P.M. central to face Louisville for the third time in 24 hours with a spot in the Super Regionals on the line.
Every Wildcat who batted in game one reached base, as Northwestern moved one win away from their first Super Regional appearance in 11 years. Morgan Nelson led the game with two hits and a walk, scoring once while driving in a pair, while Nikki Cuchran went 2-4 with a double.

A trio of rain delays couldn't cool down the hot Wildcats bats. Morgan and Maeve Nelson led off the game with a pair of walks, advancing to second and third after a groundout. Jordyn Rudd plopped a fly deep into left center, and NU had an early 1-0 lead.

Danielle Williams kept the Cardinals grounded, striking out the side in the first inning. Williams entered the day having allowed the 9^th fewest hits per 7 innings in the country and was every bit as dominant in game one. Louisville managed just two hits on the day, both on infield dribblers.

The Wildcats began to scratch away at the Cardinals in the fourth inning, with six batters making their way to first. The 'Cats loaded the bases in the fourth with a pair of hits from Morgan Newport and Cuchran and a Lily Novak walk. With two outs, Skyler Shellmeyer beat a throw to first and Rachel Lewis was hit by a pitch to each plate a run, before Morgan Nelson brought two more in with a single up the middle and Northwestern carved out a 5-0 lead.

Starting in the second, Williams turned Evanston into a no-fly-zone for the Cardinals, retiring 11 straight Louisville batters, including one stretch of five strikeouts in seven batters. Williams would end with ten strikeouts in six innings.

Northwestern extended their lead in the late innings. Morgan Nelson added one with an RBI single in the sixth, while Novak drove Rudd home with a fly in the seventh.

Morgan Newport took to the mound in the seventh to cap off the game, striking out one in a scoreless inning.

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